(7) Iris
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Opposition	27 Feb 2026	8.9	2.491 AU	1.508 AU	10h28m	-00°04'	171.0°	3.6°
Today	21 Mar 2026	9.4	2.542 AU	1.617 AU	10h10m	+02°03'	152.4°	10.5°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Iris are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2302133
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3865290
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.51882
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 259.49459
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 145.48205
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 61.72501
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 225.10083
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.12403
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.69            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-03-21 00:00 UT   10 10 01.4   +02 03 59     1.617    2.542  152.4   10.5    94    9.4 
2026-03-21 12:41 UT   10 09 41.1   +02 06 58     1.621    2.543  151.8   10.7    94    9.4 
2026-03-22 00:00 UT   10 09 23.5   +02 09 37     1.625    2.544  151.3   10.8    95    9.5 
2026-03-23 00:00 UT   10 08 47.1   +02 15 10     1.633    2.547  150.2   11.2    96    9.5 
2026-03-24 00:00 UT   10 08 12.2   +02 20 38     1.642    2.549  149.1   11.6    96    9.5 
2026-03-25 00:00 UT   10 07 38.9   +02 26 00     1.650    2.551  148.0   12.0    97    9.5 
2026-03-26 00:00 UT   10 07 07.2   +02 31 17     1.659    2.554  146.9   12.3    98    9.6 
2026-03-27 00:00 UT   10 06 37.1   +02 36 27     1.668    2.556  145.8   12.7    98    9.6 
2026-03-28 00:00 UT   10 06 08.6   +02 41 32     1.678    2.558  144.7   13.0    99    9.6 
2026-03-29 00:00 UT   10 05 41.7   +02 46 30     1.687    2.560  143.7   13.4    99    9.6 
2026-03-30 00:00 UT   10 05 16.5   +02 51 21     1.697    2.563  142.6   13.7   100    9.7 
2026-03-31 00:00 UT   10 04 52.8   +02 56 05     1.707    2.565  141.5   14.0   100    9.7 
2026-04-01 00:00 UT   10 04 30.9   +03 00 43     1.717    2.567  140.4   14.4   100    9.7 
2026-04-02 00:00 UT   10 04 10.5   +03 05 13     1.727    2.569  139.4   14.7   101    9.7 
2026-04-03 00:00 UT   10 03 51.8   +03 09 36     1.738    2.572  138.3   15.0   101    9.8 
2026-04-04 00:00 UT   10 03 34.8   +03 13 51     1.748    2.574  137.3   15.3   102    9.8 
2026-04-05 00:00 UT   10 03 19.4   +03 17 59     1.759    2.576  136.2   15.6   102    9.8 
2026-04-06 00:00 UT   10 03 05.6   +03 21 59     1.770    2.578  135.2   15.9   102    9.9 
2026-04-07 00:00 UT   10 02 53.5   +03 25 52     1.781    2.581  134.2   16.1   103    9.9 
2026-04-08 00:00 UT   10 02 43.0   +03 29 37     1.793    2.583  133.2   16.4   103    9.9 
2026-04-09 00:00 UT   10 02 34.2   +03 33 13     1.804    2.585  132.1   16.7   103    9.9 
2026-04-10 00:00 UT   10 02 27.0   +03 36 42     1.816    2.587  131.1   17.0   104    9.9 
2026-04-11 00:00 UT   10 02 21.4   +03 40 02     1.828    2.589  130.1   17.2   104   10.0 
2026-04-12 00:00 UT   10 02 17.4   +03 43 14     1.840    2.592  129.1   17.5   104   10.0 
2026-04-13 00:00 UT   10 02 15.0   +03 46 18     1.852    2.594  128.2   17.7   104   10.0 
2026-04-14 00:00 UT   10 02 14.2   +03 49 14     1.864    2.596  127.2   17.9   105   10.0 
2026-04-15 00:00 UT   10 02 15.0   +03 52 01     1.876    2.598  126.2   18.2   105   10.1 
2026-04-16 00:00 UT   10 02 17.4   +03 54 40     1.889    2.600  125.2   18.4   105   10.1 
2026-04-17 00:00 UT   10 02 21.3   +03 57 10     1.902    2.603  124.3   18.6   105   10.1 
2026-04-18 00:00 UT   10 02 26.7   +03 59 32     1.914    2.605  123.3   18.8   105   10.1 
2026-04-19 00:00 UT   10 02 33.7   +04 01 45     1.927    2.607  122.4   19.0   106   10.2 
2026-04-20 00:00 UT   10 02 42.3   +04 03 49     1.940    2.609  121.4   19.2   106   10.2 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.